Embrace the Word for Wednesday, March 18, 2026
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Psalm 38 is an expression of sorrow over and confession of sin. The superscription provides some indication about this Psalm: “A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.” It seems best to take this Psalm as something David composed to remember his sin, but also God’s mercy regarding his sin. A memory offering was a part of a sacrificial food offering that the priests burnt on the altar (See Leviticus 2). The priest’s actions, coupled with their prayers reflected the worshipper’s desire for the LORD to mercifully act in accordance with His covenant promises. Psalm 38 and Psalm 37 share at least one significant connection. Each Psalm ends with a reference to the LORD being His people’s salvation (37:39-40; 38:22). However, the concern of Psalm 37 and Psalm 38 differ. The focus of Psalm 37 is the LORD’s saving work of His people as they dwell among the wicked; while the focus of Psalm 38 is the LORD’s saving work of His people as wickedness dwells within them. Psalm 38 opens with David recounting the consequences of his sin (38:1-14), and it closes with David’s repentance and confession of his sin (38:15-22).
Psalm 38 begins with David recognizing the effects of his sin and its guilt: “O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me” (38:1-2). All that David says beyond this point is simply what has come to him because of the LORD’s anger. By addressing God as LORD, David is addressing God from the reference point of living in covenant relationship. Thus, the hot anger is not for the purpose of condemning and destroying, but to rebuke and discipline. David is being chastened for purposes of training and spiritual development. There is a world of difference between the unyielding fury of Almighty God and the loving discipline of our Heavenly Father. Its the same God, but note the important difference for those living in covenant relationship with Him. However, the chastening is still real and intense. What David is experiencing is likened to painful arrows sinking into him and a heavy hand pressing down hard on him.
David elaborates on his experience of the LORD’s chastening. David identifies the close connection between his spiritual state and his physical condition: “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness” (38:3-5). Not all sickness and physical sufferings stem from personal sin, there are many other reasons offered in the Scriptures that account for illness and physical weakness; but we should not completely dismiss the fact that sometimes the consequences of our sins locate in the body. David is speaking for himself when he states, “because of my sin,” but we would be wise to listen and consider. David also identifies how his sin has resulted in a grave outcome in his soul. David describes that his iniquities have gone over his head, speaking of a flood of guilt that has swept over him. David also describes a heavy burden on him, speaking of how the convicting weight of his sin has been laid on him. David, body and soul, is utterly exhausted and deeply saddened: “I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning…I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart” (38:6,8). Sin advertises pleasure and happiness, but it ultimately pays out pain and sorrow.
David continues describing the consequences of his sin. Sin not only has disastrous effects on us personally—body and soul, but sin also has devastating repercussions on us relationally. The first devastating relational repercussion is in the experience of our relationship with the LORD: “O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me” (38:9-10). David has been hit with a series of personal afflictions—body and soul. His groanings have gone up before the LORD, who has seen all that has unfolded, but David has been spiritually weakened because a part of the LORD’s chastening is that He has paused His supply of strength as well as His distribution of guidance. While the LORD has not departed from David, the LORD has held back; leaving David’s heart in great distress.
The second devastating relational repercussion from our sin is seen in the experience of our companions: “My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off” (38:11). David’s friends and family have distanced themselves from him—withdrawing and avoiding him. Loneliness has been added to David’s afflictions. And while David’s companions have stood aloof and far off, David’s enemies have moved in closer—but for the kill: “Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long” (38:12). David’s enemies have been empowered by the chastisement that he is experiencing. David’s friends have abandoned him leaving a void of human comfort, while David’s opponents have been emboldened to attack adding vulnerability to his list of troubles.
David is numb and seemingly without hope: “But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes” (38:13-14). David is emphatically declaring that he feels as if he has heard no encouraging counsel, thus he might as well be deaf; he has no ability to defend himself thus he might as well be mute. David has not heard anything to help, but only what would further discourage; he has not been able to say anything that would be to his benefit, but perhaps only what would be misconstrued adding more troubles. David expresses profound despair.
But while David expressed the full lament of his sin and its consequences, the LORD was listening. The LORD, by the work of His Spirit, brought David to the realization that He was kindly listening to all the weary and dreary details of his predicament. David’s whole perspective and demeanor has undergone a shift as he goes from emphatically declaring how numb he feels to emphatically declaring how clearly he sees the LORD: “But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer” (38:15). David offers a triple address: “O LORD,” “Lord,” and “my God.” Notice that David will use the same triple address again: “Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!” (38:21-22). David’s vision has improved—no, it would be more accurate to say—the LORD has opened David’s eyes bringing about an improved vision. David’s Lord is the LORD, and the LORD is his God. David is instantly lifted and strengthened by the simple yet far-reaching and wide-ranging confession that the LORD is “my God.” What a sweet assurance that resets everything!
If the LORD is David’s God and such a reality has been settling into David’s heart, then David approaches his LORD with fresh confidence and clarity: “For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!” For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully. Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good” (38:16-17,19-20). But David also approaches the LORD with fresh confession: “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin” (38:18). David admits what he has despicably done, but he also acknowledges what he desperately needs. David’s heart is filled with anxiety over his situation, along with sorrow over how his sin has brought about his situation. However, David knows that he can cry out to his God, for he knows that his God is “my salvation.”
As we reflect on Psalm 38 we can consider first the instructions of Jesus concerning the propriety of mourning for our sins: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (See Matthew 5:4). Sorrow is a fitting response to our spiritual poverty before God: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (See Matthew 5:3). However, our sorrow over our sin is not the grounds of our pardon. This is where the second consideration from Psalm 38 is applicable as we observe the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (See Isaiah 53:3). The Gospels narrate the abandonment of Jesus by His followers. As Jesus was arrested, we are told, “Then all the disciples left him and fled” (See Matthew 26:56). As Jesus hung dying on the Cross, we are told, “And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things” (See Luke 23:49). We’ve observed David’s sorrows and sufferings, his abandonment and loneliness, were due to his own sins. Yet Jesus had no sin of His own, but He did take upon Himself, David’s sins and sorrows, as well as the full amount of sins and sorrows for all who would trust in Him: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (See Isaiah 53:4).
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Wednesday, March 18, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Friday, March 20, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 39.